Where is the "analysis" of job losses? Our economy has lost 4.26% of nonfarm employment, peak to current, in this recession. Peak to trough in 1980, we lost less than 1%. In the 1982 second dip we lost almost 3% of nonfarm jobs, still far short of this recession and we're not done yet losing jobs.

Rank amateur reporting. Calculated Risk blog does real analysis. They're talking about housing turnover, shadow inventory, flattening home sales, falling durable goods orders and unfilled orders. They call it like they see it, not how they want to see it.

In the Enterprise Blog, Perry says gas real gas prices were 32 percent more expensive than today. There he goes again using a price of a single good as an "economic indicator". How about using corn prices? Did he forget real gas prices hit a record high last July? Are current gas prices not "high" by historical standards?

I wasn't suggesting corn prices as an economic indicator, you dope. I was pointing out the folly of using individual commodity price as a gauge of economic health.

Mortgage rates, car loan rates, gas prices, corn prices... They are all just PRICES. These prices are determined by the market for the products and services. They are not "key indicators" of anything. And as was pointed out, inflation rate factors into all interest rates, so they pretty much measure the same thing.

And what does your Googling reveal about my gas price statement? I said real gas prices reached a record high last year and are still high by historical standards today. Thanks for providing the data to prove what I said is correct.

But again, gas prices are not any kind of "key indicator" of the economy. Last time I checked, NBER doesn't look at gas prices as any kind of indicator for their business cycle dating.

But they DO look at durable goods orders which just FELL. I wonder why the chart doesn't include that.

For instance, nonfarm payrolls have declined by 5% in this recession (and are likely to further decline) but only declined by 3.1% in the 1981 recession.

By these variables, the 2007 recession is deeper and longer than the 1981 recession; the current episode was the worst post-WW11 economy and the incipient recovery will be so tepid that Joe6Pack won't even notice it.

Having anemic capacity utilization and capacity oozing from nearly every economic pore when interest rates are at all-time lows is not better - it is worse. It means they now is substantially worse. In the 1980's, mortgage rates and car loan rates were over 15%. The high rates of the past will suffocate consumption and business investment. Today, mortgages are 5% for 30 years and cars can be financed with 0% specials. Now throw in government stimulus that approaches 13% GDP and we are still doing worse than the 80's.

This downturn has achieved less growth with better rates and massive, massive, massive government stimulus.